So I bought a macbook, now what?

IceDigger

IceDigger

[H]F Junkie
Joined
Feb 22, 2001
Messages
12,089
So I bought a macbook as a last minute tax write off for the business.

The battery life sucks on it though. Only getting around 2hrs with it.

What are some must have apps that I should install?

So far I have the following:

Firefox
Virtualbox
Sunbird
 
IceDigger said:
So I bought a macbook as a last minute tax write off for the business.

The battery life sucks on it though. Only getting around 2hrs with it.

What are some must have apps that I should install?

So far I have the following:

Firefox
Virtualbox
Sunbird
Click to expand...

wait.. a new macbook? and you only get 2 hours?
 
Utility/Productivity:
Quicksilver
Open Office

Visual/Audio:
Cog
VLC
Perian
Flip4Mac

Ripping/encoding:
Max
Handbrake
Mactheripper
 
2 hours doesn't sound right at all. Assuming you're doing normal stuff and its not pegged at 100% cpu, I'd take it back and get it exchanged. Is this the regular Macbook, the Air, or the Pro?

Also... Get Adium, its a great all-in-one IM client. http://adium.im/

EDIT: Also consider buying VMware Fusion or Parallels.
 
bladeiai said:
wait.. a new macbook? and you only get 2 hours?
Click to expand...

Yeah, this sounds a little odd to me as well. A brand-new MacBook, whether it's polycarbonate or aluminum unibody, should be hitting the 7-8 hour range.

As for apps, we already had this thread. (KaosDG, can we finally get this and the "show off your OS X desktop" threads stickied?! :confused: )
 
Yea, I was pegging it at 100% with 100% brightness and cpu the whole time.
 
I also have the zunepass for my and my wifes zune which I love. Can I get this working on anything but a vm on this thing?
 
After a cursory search, it appears that the only way to sync a Zune via Mac is with a VM. Although as of early October, Microsoft was "mulling" bringing Zune Marketplace to Mac. Windows iTunes sucks ass and there's no Zune software at all for Mac. There's no justice in the world. :p
 
init6 said:
After a cursory search, it appears that the only way to sync a Zune via Mac is with a VM. Although as of early October, Microsoft was "mulling" bringing Zune Marketplace to Mac. Windows iTunes sucks ass and there's no Zune software at all for Mac. There's no justice in the world. :p
Click to expand...

The rival companies begrudgingly make software for each other's platforms. I think it's silly, they should execute to the best of their ability to grow their respective brands (Apple and Microsoft are both guilty). But what do I know? I'm just a marketing major and an end user.

After a year and a half from making the 'switch' I sorta just bought into Apple's sudo-forced integration and went full Apple so I could depend on everything operating perfectly and smoothly. Shame that there isn't a lot of choice.
 
Enjoy it. I bought my 13" MBP in November and love it.

It's nice to sit around on a WiFi doing simple browsing for hours while watching overs have to pull out their bulky adapters and find power, or just have to put away their notebook with a dead battery. :)
 
Here is my software list

1password
adium
bento
cinch
growlsafari
growltunes
hardwaregrowler
ibank
ibiz
launchbar
littlesnapper
merlin
rapidweaver
socialite
waver

I also have
VMWare Fusion
Adobe Web Design Premium
Final Cut Studio
Aperture
Logic Studio
Eclipse
 
Wow, a lot of deleted posts!

Anyway, IceDigger, did you find a solution to your problem?
 
Yes I did. Installed XP under virtualbox and installed the zune software.
 
Thanks for the info and links in this thread. I just got my MacBook Pro a few weeks back and I found some new apps to play with. I haven't messed with it yet (though its installed), but I used VirtualBox on Linux and I happy to see there is a Mac version. Come to think of it, same goes with many other apps I used on Linux and Windows.

LOL @ deleted posts. Wonder what I missed...



EDIT:// Wonder if I could install XP on VirutalBox for Multi-Sim? Or anyone know a good electronics/circuit simulation program besides "MacSpice" ?
 
return it, no really return it. Ok now that I am done being a dork bootcamp for sure and microsoft office ofcourse but if you have any websites that require internet explorer do a search for it. They stopped producing IE for mac in 2000 or 2001 but its still out there and quite useful if you need it.
 
I know of no websites that require IE that don't also run on Safari just as well. IE isn't as much of a requirement as it used to be, and if he does need it, then he can just run XP or Win7 in a VM to use IE
 
You will be fine with Safari, Opera, or Firefox. The only website I have found that wouldn't work with any of those was a company intranet one using some seriously fugly hacks and it won't work with Mac IE either.


As for the MS office bit, you probably don't need that either. Office is still a must have for many people, but they are really the minority. You can, more than likely, use Open Office, iWork, etc just fine.


I actually don't even use my bootcamp install anymore, probably going to trash it. VirtualBox works just fine for the few Windows apps I need, and it beats rebooting. VirtualBox works great for everything I have thrown at it, def worth a try on Multi-Sim.
 
Open Office is great.
Opera.
Any free AV that's the same quality as Avira or higher
VirtualBox
BootCamp (for gaming)
 
Terpfen said:
As of this date, antivirus software is completely unnecessary on OS X.
Click to expand...

"completely unnecessary" is kind of harsh, I think. Mac OS X is an operating system and therefore; a targetable medium for viruses. That being said, I don't run an antivirus on my MBP. I just hope people don't go around thinking Mac OS is immune to viruses.
 
iJeff said:
"completely unnecessary" is kind of harsh, I think. Mac OS X is an operating system and therefore; a targetable medium for viruses. That being said, I don't run an antivirus on my MBP. I just hope people don't go around thinking Mac OS is immune to viruses.
Click to expand...

I dont think he was saying they are immune, just that AV is currently completely unnecessary, since there are maybe a handful of viruses out there for OS X, and only 1 or 2 actually in circulation.

That being said, I do run AV software on OS X server, because I dont want any nasty Windows viruses getting through my email server out to people I send email to.
 
iJeff said:
"completely unnecessary" is kind of harsh, I think.
Click to expand...

It is factually accurate. There are no freely-propagating viruses for Mac OS X right now. There are a handful for the retired Mac OS 9, which is an entirely different code base and beast from OS X.

Mac OS X is an operating system and therefore; a targetable medium for viruses. That being said, I don't run an antivirus on my MBP. I just hope people don't go around thinking Mac OS is immune to viruses.
Click to expand...

Everything is susceptible, of course. But in the real world, the same sites that would infect and bring to its knees a Windows-based PC will do nothing to a Mac, because there aren't any viruses to infect the Mac with. I realize that people don't like hearing this because they're coming in from the Windows world where the threat of system infection is constant, and they think "no viruses on the Mac" is just arrogant fanboy gloating, but it's true. For now.

jrdonnaruma said:
I dont think he was saying they are immune, just that AV is currently completely unnecessary, since there are maybe a handful of viruses out there for OS X, and only 1 or 2 actually in circulation.
Click to expand...

This.

That being said, I do run AV software on OS X server, because I dont want any nasty Windows viruses getting through my email server out to people I send email to.
Click to expand...

Good move. But it's worth noting that for the average home Mac user, even that's unnecessary.
 
The software firewall is not enabled by default in Snow Leopard. Enable it :)
 
I dunno about running 2. I guess with OS X virus issues being so rare it isn't a big deal, but two always seems to run the risk of issues arising in my opinion. Again that is just my opinion, but I would always try to pick one or the other on Windows or OS X.
 
Actually, I'm going to redact my statement about there being a handful of viruses in circulation. I have not been able to find any RELEASED viruses for OS X circulating in the wild. I have found a ton of vulns but no live exploit code. While in the future we will likely see such a thing on OS X, currently, Antivirus software is a waste, unless your doing it to protect your poor windows-using buddies.

Oh, and ClamXAV doesn't scan for OS X viruses.. it only scans for Windows viruses, so that one isn't going to help you any, unless your just being a good neighbor and protecting your Windows-using buddies.
 
jrdonnaruma said:
Oh, and ClamXAV doesn't scan for OS X viruses.. it only scans for Windows viruses, so that one isn't going to help you any, unless your just being a good neighbor and protecting your Windows-using buddies.
Click to expand...

I run alot of Windows based stuff "through" (or on) my Mac. My network is basically Windows based, with a Linux box or two, and my MacBook thrown in the mix.


I dunno about running 2. I guess with OS X virus issues being so rare it isn't a big deal, but two always seems to run the risk of issues arising in my opinion. Again that is just my opinion, but I would always try to pick one or the other on Windows or OS X.
Click to expand...

Only iAntiVirus is actively running on startup. I have to manually start and scan with ClamXav (only when needed/running a scan), so there is no interference issues.
 
jrdonnaruma said:
Actually, I'm going to redact my statement about there being a handful of viruses in circulation. I have not been able to find any RELEASED viruses for OS X circulating in the wild. I have found a ton of vulns but no live exploit code. While in the future we will likely see such a thing on OS X, currently, Antivirus software is a waste, unless your doing it to protect your poor windows-using buddies.
Click to expand...

Thank you.
 
TheGardenTool said:
Enjoy it. I bought my 13" MBP in November and love it.

It's nice to sit around on a WiFi doing simple browsing for hours while watching overs have to pull out their bulky adapters and find power, or just have to put away their notebook with a dead battery. :)
Click to expand...

CULV laptops can accomplish that at a fraction of the price... Granted a Macbook is still faster regardless (and better constructed than most cheap CULV laptops), but if you're really using an app that's gonna push it then the battery's not gonna last much longer than the better Windows laptops... Their biggest advantage in battery life (for MBPs) comes into play during idle time or light workloads (something for which the faster processors aren't necessary, compared to a CULV system).
 
Impulse said:
CULV laptops can accomplish that at a fraction of the price... Granted a Macbook is still faster regardless (and better constructed than most cheap CULV laptops), but if you're really using an app that's gonna push it then the battery's not gonna last much longer than the better Windows laptops... Their biggest advantage in battery life (for MBPs) comes into play during idle time or light workloads (something for which the faster processors aren't necessary, compared to a CULV system).
Click to expand...

From my experience, this isn't true. I have a macbook that lasts for around 3:30 hours with IM up, Mail up, iCal up, bluetooth on, wifi on, with multiple safari tabs open, and running eclipse, dreamweaver or rapid weaver, while same computer, booted into windows, running outlook, IM, no bluetooth, wifi on, bunch of chrome tabs, and again, eclipse or dreamweaver running, i get about 2 hours.
 
Impulse said:
CULV laptops can accomplish that at a fraction of the price... Granted a Macbook is still faster regardless (and better constructed than most cheap CULV laptops), but if you're really using an app that's gonna push it then the battery's not gonna last much longer than the better Windows laptops... Their biggest advantage in battery life (for MBPs) comes into play during idle time or light workloads (something for which the faster processors aren't necessary, compared to a CULV system).
Click to expand...

The MacBook (Pro) line gets its long battery life from a gigantic battery and does so in spite of the fact that it has relatively high specs. CULV notebooks get long battery life from a combination of low-spec hardware and less intensive use.

Both have their place, but let's not try to claim that CULVs are superior machines. They have a role, but they're not going to supplant the high end segment any time soon.
 
I'm not too happy with the battery life of my 15" MBP. When I first got it in April 2008, I would get close to 6 hours by browsing the net. Now 240 cycles later, I can get 3, maybe 4 hours
 
Terpfen said:
The MacBook (Pro) line gets its long battery life from a gigantic battery and does so in spite of the fact that it has relatively high specs. CULV notebooks get long battery life from a combination of low-spec hardware and less intensive use.

Both have their place, but let's not try to claim that CULVs are superior machines. They have a role, but they're not going to supplant the high end segment any time soon.
Click to expand...

I didn't try to claim that for a second, but MBP's don't get their long battery life solely from having an excellent battery... Clearly the OS itself is better at managing battery life, 'specially during idle periods. Hence why users like the poster above you experience poorer battery life under Windows on their MBP and hence why even Windows laptops w/large 9-12 cell batteries can't keep up w/the MBPs.
 
Tylerdurdened said:
I'm not too happy with the battery life of my 15" MBP. When I first got it in April 2008, I would get close to 6 hours by browsing the net. Now 240 cycles later, I can get 3, maybe 4 hours
Click to expand...

Maybe this is a stupid question, but first, what do you mean by cycle? Every time you plug it in? Every time you turn it on? Every time you let the battery hit say 1% then charge to 100%?

Second, how do you know it's been 240 cycles? Is there some program that counts and will tell you the current count?

..... That said, I've noticed over the past few days my battery isn't going above 96%. When I use my MacBook Pro, I normally always have it plugged in. Should I only plug it in when it needs to be charged?... I honestly still have little experience with laptops and virtually none with Mac, so I'm curious about the details...
 
PanzerKrieg13 said:
Maybe this is a stupid question, but first, what do you mean by cycle? Every time you plug it in? Every time you turn it on? Every time you let the battery hit say 1% then charge to 100%?

Second, how do you know it's been 240 cycles? Is there some program that counts and will tell you the current count?

..... That said, I've noticed over the past few days my battery isn't going above 96%. When I use my MacBook Pro, I normally always have it plugged in. Should I only plug it in when it needs to be charged?... I honestly still have little experience with laptops and virtually none with Mac, so I'm curious about the details...
Click to expand...
A cycle is when the battery goes from 100% to 0. You can see how many cycles you've been through by going to syste
profiler and taking a look at the power section.
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